CEP Horizons Council Explores Race Equity and Unity in Cheltenham

The Cheltenham Education Partnership (CEP) is an equal partnership of secondary schools (from both the maintained and Independent sectors) and local organisations and charities. The values of the Partnership are collaboration and co-operation. The driving ambition of the Partnership is to expand the horizons of young people in Cheltenham and to help them realise their full potential.

On Thursday 29 January, our Year 12 and Year 10 Racial Diversity Ambassadors Anika, Felix, Heidi, Nisa, Sia and Vannise attended the annual CEP Event known as Horizons Council. The event brought together 10 secondary schools, 47 students and 13 local town experts, to discuss How to create race equity and unity for diverse communities in Cheltenham, working with CEP partner organisation Lives of Colour.

Pate’s students planned, prepared and then delivered a presentation on How can the local police work with young people to rebuild trust?

Thank you to CEP, Lives of Colour, our local experts and our hosts, The Cheltenham Ladies’ College.  

Sia (Year 12) shares their experience of the event with us,

“It was an honour to be invited to the event – we were not only able to meet like-minded students who are just as passionate about promoting equality as we are, but we could also see the effort our establishments are making.

Those of us from Pate’s worked with a member of the police workforce, Aatiqah Patel, who explained what the police is currently doing to help. As a part of our presentation, our team researched several key areas where inequality still affects young people today. For example, racial disparities in Stop and Search, and a lack of promotion of surveys and community events at which police are present in a supportive capacity.

We discussed that this can make the young people feel unheard or mistrusting of the police. In 2019, young, black people were nine times more likely to be stopped and searched. Our police now tell us it is around 3.4 times more likely as of 2024 – a definite decrease, but a shocking statistic nonetheless.

Anti-racism and unconscious bias training, along with reviewing bodycam footage to assess if excessive force has been used are examples of the steps the police is taking, but Mrs Patel agreed that trust between the general public and the police was not the best it could be.

We recommended steps on how the police can meet people of culturally diverse backgrounds on their own ground and how they might engage over social media to build a relationship with young people. Mrs Patel has taken our suggestions on board, and we hope that we can work with the police as a united front against racist behaviour.

We also learnt that young people could stand up to unfair behaviour in the smallest ways – whether by promoting equality online on social media platforms, or through getting involved in our communities in events like protests and cultural gatherings.

We discussed with the Mayor how councils can help us aim our message at large audiences. He told us who to talk to if we have a question about policing, education, or what is happening in our community. He also advised us that some prejudiced behaviour is the result of a lack of awareness or education, and that, while we as individuals cannot change the curriculum to make it more inclusive, we can explore different youth groups and community events to see the world from multiple perspectives.

While we saw the unfortunate cases where prejudice and bias are prevalent in today’s world (for example, the stereotyping so often seen in newspaper headlines, and the lack of representation of what certain ailments can look like on dark skin in the NHS), it was refreshing to be in a room with so many people who were focused on the positive changes we can make. Real change is about learning from the past, not dwelling on the darkness.

Many suggestions were made from the other schools around us. We could hold an easily accessible outdoor museum event to display information about may cultures. Another idea was to educate young people about public consultations to promote diversity.

The panel of professionals promised to hear what the young people were saying, asking to be invited next year to explain what progress they have made. They were happy to see that ‘the future is in good hands’, yet they still vowed to not be complacent and let the younger generation handle the daunting future alone.

The day showed me, and all of the other students present, that there is a future in which the colour of people’s skin is never something to be ashamed of. And that future is in our hands.”